The future will line up opposite Aaron Mitchell on Sunday, staring him right in the facemask.
It’ll take the human form of 6-foot-3, 290-pound Ed Oliver, Houston’s All-American, nearly-impossible-to-block defensive tackle.
Like most college football players, Mitchell has aspirations of an NFL career once his time at Fresno State comes to an end at the conclusion of the Hawaii Bowl.
For the senior center, there can be no better résumé-builder than to hold his own against the guy who won the Outland Trophy as a sophomore, projects as a top-10 NFL draft pick as soon as he’s eligible and whom Fresno State offensive line coach Ryan Grubb calls “the best guy I’ve seen on film.